Key Insights in Nearby Galaxies: Radio Continuum Survey of the KINGFISH Galaxies

附近的星系为研究调节星系演化的天体物理过程提供了理想的实验室，其中包括星星形成和ISM之间的相互作用。赫歇尔空间天文台准备在这一领域取得重大突破，以前所未有的空间分辨率绘制星系尘埃和气体含量的排放。射电连续谱辐射作为星星形成的无干扰示踪剂，提供了有关磁场和宇宙线电子（克雷斯）的重要补充信息。直到最近，在研究星系内的尺度时，最紧密和最普遍的关系之一--射电-红外相关性--的变化才变得明显起来。但这需要通过研究一个全面的样本星系跨越大范围的星星形成和磁场性质来建立。充分利用KINGFISH数据集沿着我们分离射电连续谱分量的仔细技术，我们计划a）使用我们的Effelsberg数据首次分析星星形成、磁场和同步辐射光谱指数之间的全球关系，B）使用Herschel PACS+SPIRE和VLA+Effelsberg数据分析NGC 6946的各种组分中的放射性-IR关系，以及c）使用EVLA为邻近星系组装最终的高分辨率射电连续谱数据库。

Nearby galaxies provide ideal laboratories for studying astrophysical processes that regulate the evolution of galaxies, among them the interplay between the star formation and ISM. The Herschel space observatory stands poised to make major breakthroughs in this area, by mapping with unprecedented spatial resolution the emission from dust and the gas content of galaxies. As an extinction-free tracer of star formation, the radio continuum emission provides crucial complementary information about magnetic fields and cosmic ray electrons (CREs). Only recently variations of one of the tightest and most universal relations, the radio-IR correlation, became apparent when studying scales within galaxies. However, this needs to be established by studying a comprehensive sample of galaxies spanning a large range in star formation and magnetic field properties. Taking full advantage of the KINGFISH dataset along with our careful techniques for separating the radio continuum components we plan to a) use our Effelsberg data to analyze for the first time global relations between star formation, magnetic fields, and synchrotron spectral index, b) dissect the radio-IR relation in its various component using Herschel PACS+SPIRE and VLA+Effelsberg data for NGC6946 and c) assemble the ultimate high resolution radio continuum database for nearby galaxies using EVLA.